The present invention relates generally to coaxial cable connectors and, more particularly, to a novel cable connector for solderlessly connecting to a standard coaxial wire, wherein the coaxial connector is either an RCA or other type coaxial cable connector.
Coaxial cable connectors are well known in the art. Currently, coaxial cables with coaxial connectors, which are electrically and mechanically connected with solder, require a detailed method of assembly. This method has many limitations, namely, many of the steps are performed by hand. As such, the labor cost of assembly can be the difference between being a profitable or unprofitable commercial product. In addition, hand labor poses risks to the laborer. Sharp cutting blades and hot soldering irons are used that can injure a laborer who is inattentive. In addition, the wire filaments used in either the center conductor or in the braided outer wire can prick the fingers or hands of the laborer.
These risks have been reduced by making the equipment safer to operate, but at an increased cost of production due to the additional safety features, which inherently reduces throughput of product. The soldering of the wire leads to the cable connectors also has problems. One problem is if the temperature is too hot the lead assembly can melt. If the solder is too cold or weak, the solder joint is "cold" and can fail easily. In addition, the connector can be shorted inadvertently between the first and second conducting elements if stray wire fold back within the connector during assembly and contact both leads. Moreover, the coaxial cables are cut to a specific length, and if a short or weak connection should occur, they cannot be re-used, which results in wasted materials and increased production cost.
Another step used in manufacturing cable connectors is that of molding insulating materials around the outer surface of the cable connector. Occasionally, stray wires from the braided portion of the cable can protrude through this molded portion, thus making the cable defective for commercial use.
The following is a brief outline of the steps used in the hand assembly of soldered coaxial plugs, such as, for example, RCA plugs. First the cable is measured to length and cut. Next, a portion of the outer jacket is stripped from each end to expose the braided wire underneath. This braided wire is debraided, or frayed, by hand insertion into a braid machine, and then subsequently twisted on a twister machine. Next, a portion of the insulation surrounding the inner wire is stripped to expose the inner wire. The inner wire is twisted and then a conductor is placed on the end with a portion of the center wire extending out an opening at the tip of the center conductor, or pin, of the conductor plug. This portion is dipped into solder, and then cleaned and filed. Next, the twisted braid portion is soldered to the shell with a soldering iron, and then the soldered portion is trimmed with a wire cutter. Finally, each end is ready for a plug molding step to cover the outer shell of the connector portion.
A solution to the soldering of coaxial connector plugs to a coaxial cable has been to crimp the connector to the wire. Most forms of crimping use a process of crimping the very tip of the center conductor pin. For some methods this may be the only crimp that is performed. A prong embedded through the outer insulative jacket to the outer braid conductor provides mechanical and electrical contact to the outer braid conductor. Problems associated with crimping the end include that, upon insertion, the center wire can bend or be misguided so when the crimp occurs, no mechanical or electrical connection is achieved. Moreover, stray wires in a filament-type center conductor may fold back and cause electrical shorting if there is inadequate insulation between the outer and inner conductor shells of the connector plug. Finally, the crimp force of a single point crimp may deform the center conductor pin, which causes the center conductor pin to be mis-shapened so it cannot be properly inserted into the receptor portion of the coaxial connection assembly.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved coaxial connector plug design and method of solderlessly connecting the connector to a coaxial cable that avoids the above problems. In addition, the method should reduce the cost of labor and improve the yield rate of commercial product.